


Rise of Pitch Black

by Mira_Image



Category: Brave (2012), Frozen (2013), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, Gen, Post-Brave (2012), Post-How to Train Your Dragon 2, Post-Rise of the Guardians, Rise of the Guardians (2012) References, Rise of the Guardians Cameos, Tangled (2010) References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-28 20:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17794328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mira_Image/pseuds/Mira_Image
Summary: The student becomes the teacher too soon. Jack Frost must find new Guardians to stop Pitch Black from stealing children across time.Full of internal and external conflict, and discrete ships. This is a fan's dream come true!Includes the storyline of Frozen, How to Train Your Dragon, Brave, and Tangled.You know... "rise of the brave tangled dragons", "the big four", and all that. But a rose by any other name is just as sweet.Enjoy!





	1. Unexpected Visitor

Jack Frost tries to write again.

"Come on, you little—" he hisses through his scrunched up face. He crouches down lower, legs trembling, his face barely poking over the rim of the table. He holds his staff in both hands, so concentrated in trying to trace letters out of snowflakes that he's forgotten to breathe.

"Are you almost finished with that present?" Tooth chimes sweetly from behind.

"GAAAH!" He gasps loudly, sucking in much needed air and shooting up straight. The hair on the back of his head brushes her nose. While Tooth is crying out and falling backwards, Jack frantically shakes his hands over the letters he'd written in the air, and they evaporate. He turns around and smacks his elbow onto the table, crossing one leg over the other and giving a shaky smile. He spots Tooth fluttering away, holding up another blue present.

Boxes and wrapping paper rolls fly across the floor as he tries to get to her.

"No, wait! That's—"

Tooth squints and brings her face nearer to the box, when suddenly it's yanked from her arms.

Jack improvises an excuse, mumbling something like "it's delicate..."

She crosses her arms and smiles, then raises an eyebrow. "Why does it say... Iaclc FrosI?"

Jack's eyes widen and he hugs the box tighter, wrinkling the wrapping. "What? No, it—" he holds the box up to his face, "is it really that bad?"

Tooth giggles and nods. "You have to work on your calligraphy... or just use a pen?"

He pouts and sets it down. "There's no magic in using a pen, the kids need to see it's  _magic_."

"Does North know you're doing this?" She asks with a sly expression. Jack smirks.

"Hey, I only got the idea after seeing  _you_  sneak coins and feathers into your presents."

Tooth blushes in surprise and struggles to come up with an answer. "What—you saw that? No, wait... I didn't... I—"

Their eyes cross paths. She breaks away with difficulty. "uh.. I think I can hear Bunnymund hassling the Yetis again. I'd better go check on him."

Jack smiles as she flutters over the railing, and into the open circular space that connects all the floors of Santa's workshop. She drops down to the bottom floor far below, leaving Jack alone at the top. He came up there to be alone, so he tries not to mind.

Jack sighs... he has to get used to replies from people. This isn't the same as the quick arguments he would have with Bunny. It's – exhausting. He turns back to the table and notices something strange. He rubs his eyes and looks again. It could be just him, but the light is dimmer, as if the table was covered in shadow.

A slow chuckle emanates from the wall. _Hahahaha..._

That voice... Jack doesn't know what to think. So he doesn't. He lets his instincts take over and runs for his staff. Even before he reaches it he opens his mouth to call out to his friends, to warn them.

An overwhelming gust of dark sand slams into him and pushes him against the railing, the only thing separating him from the immense open space. The staff is blown right over the edge, and before Jack can even react so is he.


	2. Winded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frost tries to warn them about what he saw... but the guardians aren't ready to listen.

He's falling fast, his breath quick and shallow from fear as he searches frantically for his staff. He feels it brush his leg and bends over to try and reach. The ground is flying up to meet him far too quickly. The staff dances against his finger tips—he's so close!

His fingers wrap around his staff when he is meters from the ground. It sends out a powerful cushion of air to soften his fall, almost too late. He hits the ground hard. The world swims and rings, and he feels himself get picked up. With every blink the scene is clearer.

Bunnymund's face is too close. He stares at him with unrefined hate and spits out words that are lost to the sound of ringing. Jack looks around and sees the bottom floor has been thrown into chaos by the wind he'd conjured to save his own life.

"Answer the question, Frost!" Bunnymund snarls, tightening his grip on Jack's sweater. Jack looks up at the top floor, dazed.

"I—" He starts, when they both hear Tooth gasp in quiet pain. Bunnymund turns to see that during the blast of air something had made contact with Tooth's arm, and she was rubbing it delicately. Bunnymund shuts his eyes, hardly able to contain his anger.

"Was it funny, Frost? Did you get a good laugh?" He snaps, confusing Jack even more.

"What are you—" Jack tries again, but Bunnymund cuts him off.

"Your  _pranks_  are not wanted 'ere.  _You_  are not wanted 'ere. Whatever excuse you 'ave I am  _not_  interested anymore."

Jack matches Bunny's angered expression, more than happy to fight then and there. Tooth flutters to his side and looks him wearily in the eye.

"Go get some air, Jack. Please."

The instant Bunnymund lets go of his sweater Jack shoots up to the top floor, staff ready. Any sign of black sand... or shadows... is gone.

"This isn't over." He hisses through his teeth, then takes off out an open window.

Moments later the main wooden elevator rises from a lower level and St. North steps off, taking in the disastrous conditions of this floor.

"What has happened here?" He asks, eyes wide like saucers.

Bunnymund spits a short reply. " _Frost_."


	3. So Darn Jolly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack questions his worth as a guardian... luckily he has someone on his side.

_Bunnymund!_  Jack thinks angrily to himself as he circles the workshop, searching for signs of Pitch. He of all people won't believe Jack about what really happened, so why stay and try to convince him?

_Get some air, Jack. Please._

He stops midair, gripping his staff hard. Of all people... Tooth didn't wait to hear an explanation either. It's been five months since they defeated Pitch, and they still don't see him as a real guardian. Jack puts all his frustrations together and lets it all out in one big yell. When he's done he drops down to the ground. Yelling didn't work.

He sits in the snow, not feeling warm nor cold. Just... frustrated. No Pitch, no evidence, no support. No one to stand by him.

No one to trust him.

Jack feels an unexpected gust of wind from behind, and turns to see North. He starts to stand, and North wearily motions for him to stay seated. They sit together, then North lets Jack speak first.

"Would you believe me... if I told you I saw Pitch?"

North tenses and turns to him. "What? You saw him?"

"Yes, I did!" He answers, relieved. "He attacked me on the top floor, then left."

North leans back, holding himself up with his arms from behind. "Pitch is very clever. I wish I could say the same for us." He chuckles... and Jack hopes against hope that he means Bunnymund. "I believe you were a distraction, Jack, though I do not know the purpose. Unless..."

North stands. "I have to go check if Pitch stole anything. But please, come to my office tonight, Jack Frost, in case my suspicion is correct."

North pulls out one of his snow globes and tells it "My office" before throwing it on the ground. It breaks and releases a portal of light. North winks at Jack before he steps through.

Jack lets himself fall back into the snow, looking at the sky.

_I would have quit ages ago if North weren't so darn jolly._


	4. From Another Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch has stolen something extremely precious.... a plot device! XD

A few hours and knocks later Frost finally dares enter St. North's study. Ice sculptures resembling toys are littered across the entire room, only leaving a small path between the door and the desk.

A loud bang shakes the desk across the room, and North's face rises like a hurt little sun over the rim.

"Hello, Jack! So glad you came by." He mumbles as he stands and rubs his head.

Jack walks to his side and helps him up. "...So? Did he steal anything?"

North seems to forget his pain as his eyes light up. "Yes, Jack! He stole something precious, there are only two of its kind!" Frost comes closer as North continues enticingly. "He stole something very precious, yes. A snow globe."

Jack straightens, obviously confused. "A snow globe? Really?"

The old man bangs his hands against the desktop and rises slightly from his chair, looking more serious. "Yes, Jack! One that can take you to any person, in any time."

"You mean  _at_  any time." Jack corrects. North shakes his head.

"No, boy! Across time! Past, and present!"

Frost gives a shaky smile. "You've got to be kidding."

"Aha... I am very serious, Jack. I used the other one to find  _you_  just a few hours ago."

He pulls from his coat a snow globe that has small dissimilarities from the usual. It is slightly smaller, and looks as though it contains a milky mist. Jack eyes it curiously, and reaches out to touch it. Santa moves it out of his reach, a mischievous look on his face.

"Pitch may have stolen other globe, but they are designed to work for anyone  _but_  him! Come closer, so I can show you."

The corners of North's mouth twitch up into a smile and he tells the globe "Show me Pitch Black."

The mist swirls and darkens, and Jack quickly leans closer. Pitch is in one of the many tunnels of his endless cavernous hideout. As they had feared, he is looking fully recovered and once again in control of the Nightmares. However, as they had hoped, he also looks furious.

In his hand is a globe matching the one they were peering into, and as he paces back and forth he seems to be thinking hard. He mouths something inaudible and watches the globe swirl, then drops it suddenly as if burned. The Guardians smirk. However, as a Nightmare approaches to comfort him, its hoof brushes against the globe and it disappears.

"Oh... that is not good." North murmurs. The image in the globe fades away, and Santa leans back into his chair with a heavy sigh. "Anyone but  _him_... bah! This globe came before such thing as Nightmares."

"What do we do? Where did it go?" Jack asks restlessly, staff at the ready.

North goes rigid for a moment, his eyes widening once again, then jumps out of his chair. "I know!"

He bends over his globe and says "Show me the Nightmare out of its place."

Once again the mist swirls. They see a town nestled in the mountains, and a castle by a fjord. It looks... from a different time.

"There!" Jack declares when he sees a bullet of black sand shoot across the sky. He looks up at the other Guardian, full of determination. "Forget the others, let's bring it down! You, and me!"

North looks uncertain. He leans over his desk and rests his head in his hands "You're right. This is our only chance. The Nightmare exists outside of time now, its actions in past follow the minutes of present." He looks up. "Jack, if I go now, I will drop from the sky like a ripe plum. No time to get my sleigh, and no time to get the Guardians. Jack, you must go alone!"

Jack bites his lip apprehensively. He eyes the globe, but trusts North more than any Guardian... than anyone at all. "Fine, I get it... but how do I get back?"

"Just tell the globe a name, touch the top, and it will take you. Imagine their face, and the time... and you will be fine."

North sets the swirling globe down, and Jack reaches out to touch it. Last words are lost to Jack's contact with the globe, as a sudden gust of wind tears through the room.

"Jack, be—"


	5. Reaching Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack meets a little baby awww... can you guess who that baby is??

The ground beneath his feat disappears. The walls stretch out to infinity. The ceiling grows into a cloudy blue dome. For a moment Jack falls, disoriented and afraid, until he manages to get his bearings. The world that previously existed in a little swirling globe now envelops him, its size and beauty in full realization.

The globe suddenly feels immensely precious. He slips it into his sweater pocket and freezes it to the lining.

Jack looks around and tries to keep calm.

"Okay... concentrate, concentrate... where is it?"

He rules out entire mountain ranges and dives straight for the town, keeping an eye out for flashes of black. His eyes keep turning towards the castle, its size and importance obvious to anyone. He thinks about it.

_Maybe the castle is a better idea._

Just as he thinks this, he spots a thick moving shadow on the tallest tower: what he came for. He smirks and changes his course instantly. The window is open, and twice his size. He enters with his staff pointed forwards and ready to shoot. A crib sits in the middle of the room, the mobile turning to a gentle breeze. Jack approaches cautiously, peering over from a few steps away.

A baby girl twists and turns in her sleep, her expression sour. Looking around a month old, she already has brown hair almost long enough to form locks. Jack is pained to see a baby struggle in her sleep. It doesn't feel right. Unconsciously, he reaches out to touch her. The baby opens an eye, then the other, both clear and perceptive. Her chest rises and falls in large breaths. To Jack's surprise, she makes unmistakable eye contact with him, and reaches towards him as if asking to be picked up.

Jack doesn't know what to think. So he doesn't. Hope wells up inside his chest and a smile can't help but appear. If there's a chance this baby can see him...

His hands pass through her like a blue mist. The cold sensation he'd learned to avoid creeps up his arms into his chest, and he pulls back. His feelings sink into his stomach...

Of course she can't see him.

The baby's face crinkles in confusion and frustration, and she reaches harder, her hands clenching and unclenching. In moments she is in tears.

"No no no... It's okay... I don't get it either." He coos, lifting a hand over and rubbing his fingers together. Magic-infused snowflakes drift down, cold and delicately blue. She gurgles, he assumes it's a happy gurgle, and stretches her chubby arms out to touch them.

The smile returns to Jack's confused face.  _Are all babies like this? This... weird?_

One snowflake strategically lands on her nose... Jack's special trick to help kids see magic and fun around them.

Not this time.


	6. Magic in the Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The baby changes color! I wonder if it's permanent?

The snowflake sticks to her nose, glowing subtly. However, the baby does not laugh, her eyes are not cleared of fear. The skin around her nose pales, the new color growing across her entire body. When it reaches her hairline, he witnesses brown turn to white blond.

"...What?" He stammers shakily. The baby starts to cry.

Just as he's trying to grasp the gravity of his situation, he feels something wrap around his leg. Before he can react, it pulls hard enough to trip him and bring him down. Jack keeps a firm grasp on his staff and looks over his chest to see his attacker. Black sand swirls underneath the crib. The Nightmare.

Jack tries to shoot it but it retreats instantly, rising over the crib like a tidal wave. He rolls out of the way before it comes crashing down, then aims to shoot it again. This time he makes contact, and the Nightmare is splattered against the wall in a mess of ice and sand. He gets up shakily, finally alone with the bawling baby.

Or so he wishes.

The doors burst open, and a servant of the castle scurries in. She leans over the crib to pick up the wailing baby when she spots her hair. The woman's hands dart to her horrified face. She grabs the infant quickly and rushes out of the room, yelling "King Agnarr! Queen Iduna!" to the top of her lungs.

Jack falls against the wall, doubt and fear clouding his mind. What did he do... to that poor girl?


	7. Believed In?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot truly begins! Jack begins his adventure!

"And this has... never happened before?" North asks, taking a bite of rum cake. Jack is in the toymaker's cramped office again, clutching his staff with both hands.

"No, it's never happened before, or I wouldn't be coming to you!" He answers exasperatedly, squeezing his staff harder. Santa brushes the crumbs out of his beard and sits up straighter, thinking.

"And that is why you were gone for three days?" He questions again.

"Yeah," Jack answers, calming down. "I wanted to make sure she was okay, or if it would go away."

"The Guardians and I were worried about you, but you did the right thing." North sighs, his chair groaning loudly as he stands. "I am sure she will be fine. Some children are quite gifted, with untapped reserves of magic within them. I suspect..." He stops, and his eyes lock with Jack's. "I suspect Pitch knows that."

Jack furrows his eyebrows, trying to connect the dots. "He knew..." Frost begins slowly, "so he wasn't just naming a location at random. He was looking for the baby?"

He looks up and sees North buried in his thoughts. "I do not think he is going to give up so easily. I think... I have something selfish to ask of you."

"What? You, selfish?" Jack smirks, idly twirling his staff... or at least trying to appear idle. North reaches his side and rests a hand on his shoulder.

"I must ask you to watch over this girl. Track the Nightmares outside of time."

Jack's hand tightens around his staff. "Are you sure? If we get the other guardians, we can break into his hideout and stop it at the source!"

North visibly flinches, startling Jack. He opens his mouth as if to say something, then backs up. "Oh, Frost. It is not so simple." He takes a shaky breath. "Has Pitch's lair ever... shown itself to you?"

Jack straightens. "Yeah? I got my memories back there."

"Do you remember anything else? Did Pitch... speak to you?" He taps his forehead. "In your  _mind?_ "

The room falls into an uneasy silence, as both guardians recall their past experiences. North shakes his head to clear it. "More than once we thought we could fight him there, and more than once did we lose. Our job is to keep the children from fear, so Pitch may never grow in power." He reaches for the nested doll set on his shelf, painted to look like him.

"Jack, as a new guardian, you can go and help this girl. We who rely on belief for power will stay behind. We will stop the Nightmares at the source," His eyes gleam with promise. "and you will stop those we can no longer reach!"

Jack nods, swallowing the memory of Pitch's lair as it tries to surface. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

"Okay, I get it. When Pitch is weak enough, we'll get the globe back, and I can go back to trying to be believed in."

Jack pulls the name globe out of his pocket and repeats North's words: "Show me a Nightmare out of its place."

As the globe swirls, North pats Jack's shoulder one last time." _I_ believe in you, Jack. Thank you."

Jack tried to hide his grin. "See you later, old man."


	8. Not a Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack returns to the castle with the mysterious magical baby, and finally learns her name.

The clatter of the workshop falls away. Jack stands as still as the new world around him, and for a moment... wonders if time is even moving at all.

The early morning light shines through the shut window, staining the bedroom blue and white. The crib is gone. Instead, two four-poster beds with tall canopies sit against a wall. One has its covers cast aside, the other has a little lump under the covers, gently rising and falling with every breath. So time is moving, after all.

If a Nightmare really was here, he couldn't tell at all. Once again, the globe didn't send him to its exact location... or was it just moving too quickly? Either way, he knew where it  _will_ be. So Jack finds a comfy spot by the door and sits down, waiting for the sun to rise.

 _They really do grow up fast,_  Jack jokes to himself.  _Do you want her to be young and impressionable, Pitch? What, you learned your lesson since trying to convince me?_

Suddenly, a shape pokes over the other side of the sleeping girl's bed. Jack springs to his feet faster than he can really handle, and--

"Elsa?" A little voice asks, stopping Jack in his tracks. A little red-haired girl is clambering up onto the bed, her body just barely big enough. Jack chuckles at her less-than-graceful attempt, and at his own jumpiness.

"Elsa!" the girl chirps again. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

"Anna... go back to sleep..." Elsa mumbles, half opening her eyes.

"I just can't! The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to  _play!_ " Anna recites dramatically, falling onto her sister.

"That's the spirit!" Jack laughs, making his way over to them. To his and Anna's disappointment, Elsa pushes her sister off the bed.

"Go play by yourself!"

Anna pouts, staring at the ground in silent resignation.

"Aw, no, don't give up!" encourages Jack, letting one of his magic snowflakes drift onto her nose. Anna gasps, a renewed sense of fun rippling through her, and she crawls back up onto the bed.

_Oh good, no sudden changes in hair color this time._

Jack hesitates before using his magic on Elsa...  _It's not like she can absorb the same magic twice, right?_

He lets a snowflake fall on her nose, and Elsa suddenly finds newfound energy when Anna suggests "Do you wanna build a  _snowman?_ "

She throws the covers aside and grabs her sister's hand. As Elsa runs past Jack she suddenly stops, hesitating. Jack flinches when she glances in his direction.

"Elsa? Don't you wanna play?" Anna falters. Elsa shakes her head to clear it, and continues to the door. Her arm briefly passes through Jack's, and he feels the familiar chill run to his shoulder, reinforcing what he already knows.

_No matter how gifted this girl might be... she doesn't believe in me._

He takes a quick breath, as if he could exhale out the feelings welling inside of him, then follows them.


End file.
